It’s looking more and more official by the day.
With just a little more than a month away before the 30 Gibson Les Paul decorated guitars will be unveiled to the public as part of the Waukesha Gibson GuitarTown Project festivities, a website (waukeshaguitartown.com) dedicated to the project has now been launched.
The Waukesha GuitarTown logo is at the top of the website along with images of four decorated guitars for the project.
On the website’s homepage, it also gives a quick overview of the project and has nine tabs at the top of the website, including the locations that the 10-foot guitars will be in downtown Waukesha, the 30 artists who were selected for the project for the 20 regular-sized guitars and the 10, 10-foot tall fiberglass guitars as well as contact information, how to support/sponsor the project and a listing of the upcoming events.
Viewers can also see most of the artists’ progress painting the guitars through the website.
The website also gives the viewer a history of the late Les Paul, a Waukesha native and icon in the music industry as a famous guitar player and inventor. He is known as the “Wizard of Waukesha.”
Overall, the website is simple, easy to navigate and has a clean look.
Clear Verve, a marketing firm from Elm Grove, was working with the Waukesha Gibson GuitarTown steering committee on strategic marketing and media relations support for the project.
The new website comes two days after the 20 playable guitars were sent to the Gibson Guitar Corporation in Nashville, Tenn., where hardware will be installed. The deadline for the artists to turn their oversized sculpture guitars is May 15.
Two weeks after that, the guitars will be revealed at a private reception for Gibson Corporation, sponsors and community supporters. The event will be from 4:30 to 9 p.m. May 31 at the Rotunda in downtown Waukesha.
A day later, the public will get a chance to see the completed project and recognize Waukesha joining cities such as London, Nashville and Austin, Texas, as Gibson GuitarTown cities over a three-day celebration. The Waukesha GuitarTown steering committee is calling the three-day festivities, “Les Paul’s Birthday Party.”
The festivities are being held June 1 to 3, a week before Paul’s June 9 birthday. Other events for the event include cemetery tours of the Les Paul monument at the Prairie Home Cemetery, museum tours at Waukesha County Museum, live entertainment and the Farmer’s Market on June 2 will include a Les Paul trivia and song tribute.
A children’s tent will also be set up where kids can create their own artistic guitar.
The kickoff of the Freeman Friday Night Live music series will also take place June 1 in downtown Waukesha and three confirmed acts are The Les Paul Trio, The Rusty Paul Band, the son of Les Paul, and Sammy Llanas, a Waukesha native and former member of the BoDeans.
The website also lists three current sponsors for the project: Carroll University, Waukesha State Bank and Sunset Bank.
However, the website notes that sponsorship opportunities are still available. There are four levels of sponsorship: Wizard of Waukesha ($15,000), Guitar Celebrity ($8,000), Music Innovator ($5,000) and Music Prodigy ($3,000). Each has its own benefits with the Wizard of Waukesha having the most.
A form can be found on the Waukesha GuitarTown website and forms can be sent to Ty Taylor, treasurer of Waukesha GuitarTown, at Waukesha State Bank, PO Box 648, Waukesha, WI 53187. Companies/businesses can contact Rick Congdon with sponsorship questions at (262) 366-5922.